Skip to main content

Damages

In nearly three months on the road, mostly spent camping and travelling, I’ve had a number of things break or die on me. In some ways it’s surprising, in others I suppose expected. Here’s a quick rundown as of today:

Panasonic FS-10 Digital Camera: This little guy was amazing. For the last year, it’s been my main camera and has held up through some serious abuse in South America and Asia, not to mention all the times it came out at parties and whatnot back home. It’s been dropped, thrown out of mototaxis, bounced down hills, frozen in snow, covered in sand, and kept on ticking…  Until I took it out for some pictures on the AlCan and the lense mechanism finally jammed for good. RIP.

Sony PRS300 E-Reader: I can’t travel without an e-reader anymore, they are so simple and small and easy to deal with compared to bringing books. This one came all over Asia with me and survived being recharged and partially blown out at a suspect plug at 15k feet in the Himalayas, but finally gave up the ghost just last week. The screen is totally fubar – there had been a small messed up indentation for a few months and one morning it had spread. Screen no workie. Had to buy a PRS600 to replace it. RIP.

Transcend 16GB SD Card: A year of being pulled out and pushed into various slots finally took its toll and one of my cards had the plastic cover fall apart and break into pieces, rendering it useless with photos still on it. Argh.  RIP.

Big Agnes Air Core Pad: My main piece of camping gear for well over two years, I adore my air core pad because it makes it easy, warm, and comfortable to sleep everywhere. I’ve used it at least 40 times before this trip and at least 70 times on it – but a few nights ago it started to slowly leak and as of two nights ago it will lose all its air within two hours. The leak is too slow to pin down and seal without a bathtub so I’m stuck with waking up on hard ground at night. A bummer, but I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth by a long shot considering how many times I have inflated and deflated this guy. Now I just need to find somewhere to buy a replacement…  RIP.

Chuck Taylors: Okay, I’m still using these but they are completely shot. The sole is mostly separated on the right sneaker and both of them are literally falling apart at the seams. They are so comfy though…  I’m going to keep wearing ‘em until I can’t.

Canon T2i / EOS 550D DSLR: Purchased brand new for this trip primarily for its video capabilities, my T2i started crashing any time I take video in Seattle. I’ve tried two different SD cards both of which worked fine before and different resolutions and no matter what, it completely crashes within a second of starting. Hopefully I can warranty it when I get home, otherwise I wasted a LOT of money on this POS. At least it still takes photos…



Notice it’s mostly electronics falling to pieces? To be expected, I suppose, especially after the abuse I’ve put most of them through. I can’t complain – I’m just happy my laptop has still survived!

Onward towards home…

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Patagonia Beckons

Today I begin what may become one of the most difficult tests of long term mental and physical endurance and strength I have ever undertaken: for most of its remaining 2500km through Patagonia, Ruta 40 is considered one of the most desolate highways in the world. Over half of the remaining road is gravel, sand, and dirt. The number of towns listed on a map once I pass Perito Moreno can be counted on one hand, and there are many stretches of hundreds of miles without provisions, fuel, or places to stay.

5 Things that Suck about Traveling Solo

I find it telling that it seems a majority of the interesting travel blogs I run across are written by solo travelers, most often women. I think there’s a reason why we write more than people who travel with friends or in groups and that it’s pretty self evident: it’s an outlet for our loneliness. In the last year and a half, the vast majority of my time has been spent away from home, alone. As I write this, it’s been over a month since I’ve conversed with anyone in my native language, and I can remember every single conversation in English for the month before that. The truth is, I don’t think I could have done this without the internet – without a blog to share my thoughts, without Facebook to see what my friends are up to, without the occasional e-mail to provide a façade of normalcy… without these things I’d likely have driven myself insane with my internal dialogue. Now, I grant, there’s a reason I travel alone and I do love it, but lately it seems all I run across in the blogosp

Gear Review: Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks

In the past couple months on the road I think I’ve spent more time riding my scooter through rain than I have in the dry – this is clearly reflected in the fact that as time has gone by I’ve invested more and more money in things to keep my stuff dry, since wet gear sucks. One of my favorite purchases for this trip is the pair of Sea to Summit Big River Dry Sacks I picked up just before leaving, in 13L and 20L sizes. They cost me around $20 each and are one of the best pieces of gear I’ve purchased in years – extremely durable, effective, and simple to use.